How many chickens

[Ada06]

https://www.ebay.com/i/233055035450...I5fbKtKDPa0QhWqkHXjNx2aYAfybQndBoCGA8QAvD_BwE
Is this a good chicken coop? How many chickens could it fit. My chickens also free range.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

https://www.ebay.com/i/233055035450...I5fbKtKDPa0QhWqkHXjNx2aYAfybQndBoCGA8QAvD_BwE
Is this a good chicken coop? How many chickens could it fit. My chickens also free range.

Hard to say without measurements. I looked at the site and I couldn’t see any measurements on there. These prefab chicken coops while they look really nice are usually cheaply made and do not have as much room for the chickens as they state. Also hard to see how tall the coop is based on the photo as there is nobody standing next to it or anything else for scale. If you’re able to get the measurements on it you can check you need 10 ft.² per hen in the run and 5 ft.² per hen in the coop as a general rule of thumb. This of course is different if you plan to free range your flock.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I would not buy that coop for several reasons.
First is size. It will hold 3-4 birds maximum. It will be a pain in the back to tend them and when you have to go in the run.

Second they are ALWAYS made of a very soft wood that warps, decays and falls apart.

ANYTIME the size is listed in INCHES it is to small.

The coop is aprox 4'x4' including nest boxes. It has WAY to many nests for the size of coop.
That "run" is just under 7' long and just 3'3" wide. It is not even 4 ' tall at the peak.
The run is barely big enough for 2 birds.

Free ranging doesn't really "buy" extra space when it is time to roost.

How many birds are you needing to house?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Thanks for the correction, I was referring to the run and not the coop. Sorry I did not make that clear. I also had no measurements to go by.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Hard to say without measurements. I looked at the site and I couldn’t see any measurements on there. These prefab chicken coops while they look really nice are usually cheaply made and do not have as much room for the chickens as they state. Also hard to see how tall the coop is based on the photo as there is nobody standing next to it or anything else for scale. If you’re able to get the measurements on it you can check you need 10 ft.² per hen in the run and 5 ft.² per hen in the coop as a general rule of thumb. This of course is different if you plan to free range your flock.

Click where it says see full description.

 

[KerriChick]

We have a prefab coop and I am regretting it. Said it would hold 4 full size chickens and there is just not enough room for them all to roost. It works for now but for the price it isn't worth it knowing we will just have to replace it in the next year. Looking at the description and the square footage of the coop, I wouldn't put more than 4 full size chickens in that(6 bantys might work ok). The ventilation looks decent. I would worry about the bottom being open to predators, def put some buried hardware cloth around the base.

Good luck and let us know what you decide! I know it seems expensive to build your own, but there are lots of DIY plans out there that are fairly simple and you'll get a longer life out of a coop built with stronger materials. If this is a back yard coop in the burbs(like ours) or city and you low on predators it might be fine, however.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

If you look on the forum there are several threads about building your own coop. Does not have to be too expensive. We built a fairly large coop and run out of an old trampoline frame. Came out really nice. Most expensive part was the hardware cloth!

 

[NNYchick]

For the money you could build a much better set up. This year we added a run using the hoop method with cattle panels. It doesn’t take too much in carpentry skills ours is attached to coop but I’ve seen them made into coops with tarp, and back wall. it was 1/2 the price of the one you posted in the link and 20’ by 8’ about 6 1/2’ tall.

 

[Ada06]

I would not buy that coop for several reasons.
First is size. It will hold 3-4 birds maximum. It will be a pain in the back to tend them and when you have to go in the run.

Second they are ALWAYS made of a very soft wood that warps, decays and falls apart.

ANYTIME the size is listed in INCHES it is to small.

The coop is aprox 4'x4' including nest boxes. It has WAY to many nests for the size of coop.
That "run" is just under 7' long and just 3'3" wide. It is not even 4 ' tall at the peak.
The run is barely big enough for 2 birds.

Free ranging doesn't really "buy" extra space when it is time to roost.

How many birds are you needing to house?

Okay thanks. I have six chickens already in a coop but I want to expand my flock next spring to like 20-25 birds.

 

[Ada06]

For the money you could build a much better set up. This year we added a run using the hoop method with cattle panels. It doesn’t take too much in carpentry skills ours is attached to coop but I’ve seen them made into coops with tarp, and back wall. it was 1/2 the price of the one you posted in the link and 20’ by 8’ about 6 1/2’ tall.
View attachment 2322766

That looks great!